Ropes and Ribbons
by Fangirl-Obsessions
Summary: It's almost been a year since the rebellion ended. Gale has discovered that supposed dead Madge Undersee was actually alive in Two all this time.
1. Chapter 1

I never liked the smell of burning wood. Gale throws another log on the fire and it bursts into flames, ashes rising up into the night sky. I rub my hands together, hoping to get the feeling back in my palms. He takes a seat next to me on the couch and covers me with a blanket.

"Thanks," I mumble. My hands go out to warm myself over the fire.

"It's nothing," he says, nodding towards me.

"You shouldn't feel like you owe me something, Gale."

"I don't-"

"Then why did you bother to invite me here Gale? I get it. You couldn't save me; you had to save everyone else. Honestly, I understand." My hand rests on his shoulder and he takes a breath in.

"I should've saved you," he shouts," I left you to die."

"Gale."

"No, Madge. It's unacceptable. I should've saved you."

My hands cup his face, an action I never would've dared to do before the bombing. "We both would've ended up dead. You did what was necessary for all of Twelve. So stop blaming yourself for my parent's death." I look him straight in the eye. His eyes lighten, and I am the one to press my lips to his. He doesn't react, but I feel his body loosen,his hand rest in the dip on my back and another one cups my face. I'm surprised at how much I get into this kiss, and I'm suddenly raking my fingers through his hair. He smells of apples, and I feel something bubbling up inside me. I let go and press my forehead against his. "I'm not going to let you torture yourself with that any longer, okay?" Grim determination is set in my voice. Gale suddenly reminds me of the boy at the Reaping. The shocked boy from the Seam looks back at me with wondering eyes.

"I don't want pity, Madge. You didn't have to do that."

I shrug, wrapping the corner of my blanket around my body."I know." The realization of what I've said makes him get to his feet and look me straight me in the eye."You know me well enough Hawthorne to know that I don't give pity."

"Madge, you don't want me." He sounds desperate.

"I've spents an entire year by myself thinking what I wanted," I stand up," I wanted to be free." I drop the blanket. "I wanted to go to bed at night and wonder if I'm the one to die in that arena. And I know my chances of going were slim, you made a point of telling me that on Reaping Day, but I hated it. I hated pretending to be the perfect daughter and pretending to love the rules," it's one step that makes me empowered to take his face in my hands."I know what I want Hawthorne."

He releases a laugh, a quick nervous one." I should stop calling you princess," he tucks a lock of golden hair behind my ear," and start calling you Queen."

"Being the princess sucks," I mutter. He stomps out the fire and leads the way back to the Square. District Two wasn't that different for Twelve. The lay out is similar, but the real difference was the vastness of the district. We go to the building for refugees and he walks me towards my compartment.

"I meant it," my hand catches his," I want you."

"I don't understand you," he shakes his head. We turn into the hall where I live. "I was nothing but an ass over the last few years, and you still don't hate me. "

"True, but it never bothered me." I punch in the code that unlocks my door and hand him the blanket.

"Good night princess," he kisses my forehead.

"Night Hawthorne," I smirk, closing the door behind me. I change into a night gown that's been issued to all refugees and pull apart the covers from my matress. I let out the ribbon in my hair and throw it in the drawer with what I took from me when I made a run for it before the bombing. I slide into my bed and inhale the scent of apples that lingered on my skin. I'm going to admit it to myself but never to Gale. I've been waiting a long time to share that kiss with him. Yes, I definitely want him. A little more than I actually want to admit.

I slept in. I know that by how the hue of the light streams in my shutters. No one comes to wake me up, so how can I be blamed? One of the girls from Eight, Penny, I think, bangs on my door. After she finishes screaming at me for sleeping in, I practically roll off my bed. I guess someone finally came and woke me up. I tie a ribbon around my hair and slip into the clothes that are issused to me. I brush my teeth and splash some water on my face. My eyes wander to my face. The girl who I knew from memory is not there anymore. She looks...tougher. Like she's gone through too much. I look older, too. My face rounds out and lips are a little fuller. The slope of my nose more sharp. I don't realize that I've been holding my breath and my skin turns purple.

I turn off the light in my bathroom and slam the door behind me. Tucking my arms into the pockets of my slacks, I leave my building and go to the Square. It is mandatory to be in the Square by two in afternoon for the daily report. I sometimes tune out what they're saying because I honestly don't care. I have nothing left for me in Twelve. All of the guards stand in a line next to the speaker, Commander Lyme. I pick out Gale easily and focus on him. Somehow, he sees me and smirks, pointing to his ear. I shake my head.

"No," I mouth to him. He shrugs and looks at Commander Lyme again, attention in his posture and face. I look at her, and she's talking about how damages to the Districts have almost been prepared and the trains are operating again. She encourages us to travel frequently and signs off, the soldiers following her in a tight line off the stage. The crowd files out, too.

Travel?

She makes it seem like we're going on vacation. Sure people would like to travel to go back home, but what's the use?

Gale catches up to me right when I'm heading back home.

"We can finally go back home," he says. I'm stomping up the stairs and nod.

"That's the plan," I say. Gale is keeping up the pace with me so easily.

"My family has been waiting for this for quite a while," he sighs.

"They must be tired of Two. I know I am."

"Lyme told us yesterday, so we already have our boarding tickets." I bite my lip. Of course Gale would be eager to go back home. I smells the smoke and it settles in my lungs. The screams. The eerie silence before all hell broke loose. My knees buckle, and Gale catches me before I hit the floor.

"Hey," he gets a grip on my side and lifts me," you okay?" I swallow and nod. We arrive at my door and he asks me the code. I tell him, and he swings the door open. His hand is on my back, guiding me to my bed. He goes to leave,mbut I catch his hand.

"I'm fine, stay," I choke out. He looks worried and closes the door.

"If you don't want me to go, I'll stay here." I know he wasn't talking about staying in my room.

"You're family needs you."

"Not as much as you do," he takes a seat at the edge of my bed.

"You can't help everyone," I take a breath," it's okay." His eyes turn dark. He shakes his head.

"That doesn't mean I can't try." I prop myself up against the wall and glare.

"I'll probably never want to go home," he looks at me," I'll never will. There's too many bad things there."

"Then, I'll stay here as long as you want me to. You still have an oppurtunity to say you don't want me."

"Seriously, Hawthorne?" I snap." Why is it such a big deal that I like you? If you don't like me, it's fine! I'm not going to throw a fit. We're not children!"

"That's the problem!" He yells, making me jump."I'm not a kid, Undersee. I've seen war and killed people. I'm not the same kid at the Reaping three years ago."

"Of course you aren't. I'm an orphan. We're not the same people we were." My hand rests on top of his and we listen to our breathing for a while before he answers.

"I don't deserve you," he jokes. I roll my eyes.

"Of course you don't. After all," my hand goes to pull a lock of his hair from his eyes,"I'm a Queen."


	2. Chapter 2

A hand touches my face. Fingers touch the side of my face and slope of my nose. I see Gale next to me, his eyes watching me in the dark.

"We took a very long nap," I detect the humor in his voice and laugh.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I say. I stretch in my bed, but the side of his body blocks me. He props himself up on his elbow.

"I didn't want to." I nod and snuggle back into my bed.

"What time is it?"

"Like eight, I guess," he smooths back my hair,"why?"

"No reason, just curious," I mumble into his shoulder. "You should get going. Your family's probably worried."

"Are you that desperate to get rid off me, Undersee?" He smirks, getting up. I kick off my shoes."Actually not at all." He looks surprised.

"Does Madge Undersee actually want me to spend the night?" He says in a mock tone.

My head rests on my pillow and my hand goes to turn on the light." Not anymore, now that you're being rude about it." He chuckles and climbs back into bed.

"No funny business, Hawthorne," I sigh into my pillow. He kisses my forehead and drapes an arm over me.

"I know." His arm fends off all the nightmares and sleep finds me easily.

In the morning, I peel Gale's arm off of me and dress quickly. He rolls over to my side. The shuffle of blankets and his head lifts up to find me in the darkness.

"What happened?" He mumbles, the morning still holding his conscience. I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and cross my arms.

"Nothing," I sit back on the bed. "Go back to sleep." He opens up his mouth as if to say something, but instead he nods and closes his eyes. I brush my teeth and comb out the knots in my hair. My hand reaches for a hair tie and easily put my hair up. I check the clock by my bed.

11:36. I decide that his family isn't up yet, but I still kiss his cheek, adjust his blanket, and slip out of the room into the day. I think of my dream. I wonder what would my father think of Gale and I. A look of indifference from him flashes my mind. He wouldn't care. He knows Gale is good. I'm surprised that I still remember where his family is stationed. My hand is just about to knock on the door when Inhear the voice. It's very whimsical and childlike, and the thought of pink ribbons and smiling girls stop me in my tracks.

"You're very pretty," Posy stands at the corner of her house. She looks older even. How old is she? Five? Six?

"Thank you," I feel a smile warming me. She immedietly Grabs my hand and leads me into the house. Warmth and the smell of burning wood greets me while Posy introduces me. Rory and Vick gape at me but very welcoming. Hazelle envelops me in a tight hug and she remains me so much of her so. Strong, determined. I'm suddenly very afraid of her because I'm the reason they can't take their son with them back to Twelve. They don't ask questions and I don't either, but by the smug looks of Rory and Vick's faces, they know. I remember seeing Gale in Two for the first time. I almost had a meltdown. The thought of a ghost roaming around the district terrified me, but I balled my hands into fists and kept walking. Maybe my mind would stop playing tricks on me or I could just never leave my compartment.

Then I heard the whispers of the girls next door about the handsome soldier and knew it was him. He had the same effects here on the girls here like he did in Twelve. A week after, I decided I had to see if it was him. His face went cold. We stood in the Square hands by our sides and mouths open. The first thing he told me was etched in my brain for a long time.

"Princess is a survivor," he chuckled. This brought a laugh, a chink in my emotionless armor. He didn't care about our last conversation or his misplaced anger for me, but his arms were around my sides, bringing me closer. "He's real," kept running through my mind, and his hand was smoothing down my hair. He's alive and real. The embrace wore out and the questions began. I told him of my survival how I even escaped early to make a run for it how my parents weren't fortunate. And the whole time, he's shaking his head, as if none of this matched what he thought I was.

Hazelle pretends to not notice me thinking and smiles."We're very thankful for you." She adds, giving my shoulder a firm squeeze.

"For me?"

Hazelle sends her kids off and sits down at the couch,patting the seat next to her."He isn't as damaged. The war," her eyes flicker," took a toll on us, well everyone really. He just seems happier."

"I don't think I did that," I shake my head. I've only kissed him once and even then he didn't want me to.

"The fact that you can't see how much good you're doing to him is even more obvious."

"Everything he does," I breath," is calculated. It just doesn't seem like him to suddenly get better."

"Nope," she sighs, her hand cups mine," that was all you."

Gale is still sleeping when I return. Kicking off my shoes, I climb into bed. He groans, his body turning torward me. I study the features of his face and wonder, did I heal him? I don't know how bad it was after the war, but did I help him? My face buried into his chest, I take a gulp of air, hoping the smoke from the bombs don't choke me. No, he helped me, and now I'm keeping him from going home. My arm weaves around him and pull him closer to me. His face nuzzles in my shoulder.

"Madge," he grumbles.

"What?"

"I'm glad you're not dead." He says, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"I'm glad, too."

**I was a little unclear last time;this will be a story, not a one shot. My tumblr is Soldier-Mockingjay and feel free to talk to me anytime. *u***


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